Fluid spray gun assembly



May 9, 1967 R. w. NEW

FLUID SPRAY GUN ASSEMBLY 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 5, 1964 A TTOENE V5 May 9, 1967 R. w. NEW

FLUID SPRAY GUN ASSEMBLY 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 5, 1964 S* @VNV E a M l @v N MN o W Q M, m S mm. Y NN #SN #Y m iw Nm @d 25:5;

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INVENTOR.

BY 5 I ATTORNEYS u mm.

May 9, 1967 R. w. NEW 3,318,535

FLUID SPRAY GUN ASSEMBLY Filed Oct. 5, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 RUSSEL W NEW I NVEN TOR.

BY @Mw/MW! ATToP/uers` United States Patent Oitice 3,318,535 Patented May 9, 1967 3,318,535 FLUID SPRAY GUN ASSEMBLY Russel W. New, Dallas, Tex., assignor to Cook Machinery Co., Inc., Dallas, Tex. Filed Oct. 5, 1964, Ser. No. 401,614 Claims. (Cl. 239-310) The application relates to spray guns, generally, and more particularly to a hand held spray gun assembly for washing cars and the like, that is supplied through a ilexible hose with uid for spraying.

Hand held spray guns are supplied with uid through a flexible hose to give the operator thereof freedom to move the gun relative to the work being sprayed. As the operator moves he usually drags the hose with him through the connection between the hose and the gun. This connection then, and the portion of the hose adjacent to the connection, are subjected to considerable bending stress which greatly shortens the life of the hose and the connection.

It is an object of this invention to provide a hand held spray gun assembly, which includes a flexible hose for supplying uid for spraying to the gun, that keeps the connection between the gun and the hose from being subjected to bending stresses as the gun is moved relative to the work being sprayed and that also protects the exible hose from any sharp bends adjacent its point of connection to the gun.

The type of hand held spray gun to which this invention relates also includes a nozzle assembly for providing a spray of the desired shape `of the uid supplied to the gun through the hose. Where the nozzle assembly is attached to a pistol shaped housing, which can be comfortably held by the operator with one hand as he directs the nozzle in the desired direction, such housing also serves to conduct the iluid being sprayed from the flexible hose to the nozzle assembly. Thus, at least a portion of the housing must be constructed as a ilow conduit, which complicates and increases the cost of such housing.

It is another object of this invention to provide a hand held spray gun assembly having a nozzle assembly supported by a pistol shaped housing in which the nozzle assembly is connected directly to the flexible hose supplying the gun with liquid for spraying.

It is another object of this invention to provide a hand held spray gun including a nozzle assembly, in which the nozzle assembly is connected directly to the exible hose, and in which the pistol shaped housing encloses the connection between the nozzle assembly and the exible hose.

Where the uid being sprayed is supplied to the gun under considerable pressure, the operator has to exert a considerable force to hold the gun against the reactive force of the fluid -owing from the nozzle. Unless he is very alert, when the supply of fluid is cut oil, he will move the gun forward involuntarily and if the gun is being held close to the object being washed, its nozzle end may strike it. This is to be avoided particularly when washing automobiles for such a blow can mar its lfinish.

It is therefore another object of this invention to provide a hand held spray gun of the type described, which will not mar a surface even if its nozzle end strikes it, which has a nozzle end that can be used to scrape the surface being cleaned to help in the cleaning operation, and which will reduce the splatter of the liquid being sprayed.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a hand held spray gun assembly of novel design that has a minimum number of parts, that is easily assembled and disassembled for repair and service, and that is economical to manufacture.

These and other objects, advantages and features of the inventionwill be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of this specification, attached drawings and appended claims.

The invention will now be described in connection with the attached drawings, in which,

FIGURE 1 shows an embodiment of the spray gun as'- sembly of this invention being used to wash an automobile;

FIGURE lA is a vertical cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale of the nozzle end of the nozzle assembly of the spray gun assembly of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the embodiment of the spray gun assembly of FIGURE 1 with one-half of the pistol grip housing disconnected from the other half thereof and rotated to a position to clearly show the novel manner that the parts of the uid spray gun assembly are arranged whcn assembled and showing partially in section the connection between the nozzle assembly of the gun and the flexible hose, which provides it with uid to be sprayed along with a portion of the hose, the conduit, and the sheath surrounding the hose and the electrical lines, which lead from the gun to the electrically operated devices that control the type of luid being supplied to the gun, and which also starts and stops the pump supplying the tluid, and further showing the hollow construction of the housing which allows the control switch to be easily mounted therein, and which also allows the nozzle assembly to be directly connected to the hose within the housing thereby relieving the housing of any of the pressure of the fluid being sprayed;

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 3 3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional View illustrating a novel arrangement whereby the opening in the end of the housing through which the switch lever extends, when the switch is mounted therein, can be quickly and conveniently closed when the switch is removed from the gun assembly;

FIGURE 5 is a view taken along line 5 5 of FIGURE 2 showing how the outwardly extending flanges on the housing enclose and protect the operating lever of the control switch from damage should the gun be dropped on the oor or otherwise hit against something; and

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view, on a reduced scale, of the sheath that encloses the portion of the hose adjacent the housing; the electrical lines are removed in this view and replaced by a plug designed to transmit the stiti'ness of the sheath, along with whatever it may have,

.to the side of the hose adjacent the opening in the sheath for the electric wires.

The hand held spray gun assembly 10 in FIGURE 1 is shown being used to wash an automobile 11. The gun is supplied with cleaning uid by pump 13 through line 13a and exible conduit 19. The pump is powered by motor 14. Either water containing dissolved detergent trom tank 15 or cold water for rinsing is pumped through the gun depending upon which of the two electrically con trolled valves 16 and 17 are open.

As will be explained in detail below, means are provided in the gun assembly to allow the operator of the gun to control electrically operated valves 16 and 17 to deliver the desired cleaning uid and also to start and stop motor 14 which drives pump 13. Electrical wires 39 lead from these electrically controlled devices to gun assembly 10 through conduit 19.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, gun assembly 1l) includes nozzle assembly 20 and pistol shaped housing assembly 21. The nozzle assembly comprises a generally L-shaped tlow pipe 22 having an outlet leg 22a and nozzle 23, which as shown in FIGURE 1A, is connected to the end of outlet leg 22a of the ow pipe by a connecting bushing 9. The nozzle is designed to emit the uid flowing through the ow pipe and bushing in a spray of the desired shape'.

catches a large portion of the liquid that splashes toward the operator from the surface being Washed. In theA preferred form, the cup 8 extends beyond the end of nozzle 23, as shown in the drawings, to keep the operator from involuntarily striking nozzle 23 against the surface he is washing when the pressure of the fluid flowing through the nozzle is reduced suddenly. With this larrangement it also can be used to scrub particularly hard to remove debris from the surface, such as insects from the front of an automobile.

Inletleg 22h of flow pipe 20 is connected to hose 12 `through connection 24. Any type of connection can be used'to connect the hose to the flow pipe. Preferably, however, -the connection is of the type that allows either the hose or the ilow pipe to be disconnected from the connection and replaced or repaired. The connection shown includes an outer sleeve 25, which vslips down over the outside of the end of the hose until ribs 26 vare well below the end of the hose. The mandrel 27, which is threadedly connected to sleeve 25, is then forced into the open end of the hose by rotating it relative to the sleeve. Wrench flats 28 are provided on the mandrel for that purpose. The mandrel forces the walls of the hose into engagement with ribs 26 which hold the hose in the sleeve and prevent it from being inadvertently pulled therefrom. Inlet leg v22b of the flow pipe is then threadedly connected to mandrel 27 asVV shown in FIGURE 2. Thus, the nozzle assembly is connected directly to the hose inside housing 21, thereby relieving the housing of having to provide la conduit for carrying the fluid from the hose to the nozzle assembly, and which further `allows the housing to protect the connection and the hose adjacent thereto from bending stresses as the gun is moved by the operator.

In the embodiment shown, pistol shaped housing 21 is provided to facilitate holding of the nozzle assembly by the operator. It has a barrel section 21a -and a handle or pistol grip section 21b. The housing is split vertically down Vthe middle into a left-hand half A and a right-hand B, as viewed in FIGURE 2, for assembly around the nozzle assembly and a portion of the hose. Thus, the housing can be disassembled easily to remove and inspect or work on the nozzle assembly without having to disconnect the nozzle assembly from the hose. In the embodiment shown, the two halves are held together by machine screws 29 which extend through appropriately located openings in housing half B and are threadedly connected :to tapped holes 30 in housing half A. The housing is hollow when assembled and encloses a portion of outlet leg 22a of flow pipe 20, all of inlet leg 22b of the flow pipe and Ia portion of hose 12 beyond the point where it is connected to inlet leg 22b of the flow pipe. Each half of the barrel section of the housing is pro- .vided with laterally extending cross members to engage leg 22a of the ow pipe. Thus, half A has cross members 31a and 32a and half B has cross members 31b and 32b, Bach cross member has an arcuate groove to receive the flow pipe leg and to combine with the other cross members in holding the leg against lateral movement relative to the Vlongitudinal axis of the barrel section of the housing.

Similarly cross members 33a and 34a located inhalf A and cross members 33b yand 34b in half B of the handle section of the housing engage inlet leg 22b of flow pipe 22 and hold it against lateral movement relative to the longitudinal axis of the handle portion of the housing. With the'housing engaging the ilow pipe in this manner, movement of any kind of the ow pipe relative to the housing is prevented. In other words, longitudinal movement of leg 22arof the iiow pipe in either direction is preof necessity be accompanied by lateral movement of legV 2211 relative to the longitudinal axis of the handle. Conversely, longitudinal movementV of leg 22b in either direction would cause lateral movement lof leg 22a relative to the longitudinal -axis of the barrel portion of the housing which is, of course, prevented by cross members 31 and 32. Thus, when the housing is in position engaging the tlow pipe in this manner the pipe is held against movement in anydirection relative to the housing.'

In the embodiment shown two cross members are provided-in each half of theV housing to engage each leg ofthe flow pipe. One cross member in each half of the housing to each leg of the ow pipe would be sufficient, however, to accomplish the desired result. Thus, the L-shaped ilow pipe need only be engaged and supported at two points in the housing as long as these Vtwo points are on different legs` thereof. With this arrangement housing 21 can be substantially hollow, thereby providing space for control switch 35 which Valong with electric lines 39 is located in cavity 36 formed within the housing; The switch, which in this embodiment is a toggle switch, is mounted on 4rear wall 37 of the barrel portion-of the housing with its switch operating lever or. toggle 35a extending therethrough to be in position to be manipulated by the thumb of an operator holding the gun by the handle section of the housing, as shown-in FIGURE 5. The words wash, olf and rinse are stenciled, molded or otherwise formed in the back Wall of the housing to show where to move the toggle for the function desired.y Y

To protect the switch lever or toggle from being damaged should the gun be dropped on the floor, or slammed into a wall, etc., the barrel portion of the housing is provided with outwardly extending flanges 38 that eX- tend outwardly from the housing byondthe toggle. As shown in FIGURE 5, these flanges are spaced close enough to the toggle to protect it, but far enough apart to allow it to be manipulated by the operator of the gun;

As explained above, switch 35 is connected to the electrically operated valves 16 and 17 and pump motor 14 through electrical lines 39. jIlhese lines extend from switch 35 through cavity 41 in the handlev portion of the housing and out the lower end of the handle *portion adjacent hose 12. In the embodiment shown, the elec# trical lines and hose 12 are both located' in conduit 42 which has an opening 42a therethrough for the electrical lines and an opening 42b for the hose. The conduit serves to keep the hose and the electrical lines from becoming tangled or otherwise interfering with the move- Vment of the gun by the operator. It is held in place on the hose within the handle 43.

Hose 12, being resilient, can stretch, when subjected to -a longitudinal force, much more readily than can electrical lines 39. This could cause the wires to break unless they rare provided With 'ample slack. As an alternate solution, braided wires can be used for the electrical lines which can stretch as much as can the hose. Bra-ided wires are usually not insulated and so when they are used conduit 42 is provided with a separate opening for each line to insulate each one from the others.

Means are also provided to hold hose 12 in axial alignment shown, end wall 45 in 'handle Vsection 2lb of the imposed on the connect-ion between the two as the gun is moved from one position to the other. In the embodiment shown, end wall 45 in handle section 2lb of the housing is provided with an opening 46 :through which passes cond-uit 42 along with hose 12 and electrical lines 39. Wall 45 is provided with an yannular slot 47 in which is positioned outwardly extending annular flange 48 on the end of sheath 50. By providing the ange with an outside diameter such that it iits the groove closely and by providing sheath 50 with an insidediameter such that it lits conduit 42 closely, the lateral movement of the portion of the housing by clamp conduit and, consequently, the hose will be held to a minimum.

Sheath 50 is made of a plastic material such as rubber, and is suiciently ilexible to be bent by the portions of the conduit and hose in the sheath. Preferably, however, it has sutlicient inherent stillness to resist this bending and keep the hose from bending at a sharp angle adjacent the handle. By providing a sheath with a gradually decreasing outside diameter, as in the embodiment shown, the stillness of the sheath decreases from a point adjacent the housing of the gun to its outer end. Thus, the sheath serves to form the portion of the hose adjacent the gun into a gentle curve and keeps it free of sharp bends, which result n early failures in the hose, even though the hose 'm pulling at a right 4angle to the centerline of the handle of the housing.

VFlange 48 on sheath 50 also serves to help keep moisture out of the handle section of the housing. To keep water out of the barrel section of the housing, rubber grommet 52 is provided which encircles outlet leg 22a of the pipe and is positioned in opening 53 in front end wall 54 of the barrel section of the housing.

Should switch 35 be removed from the gun and placed somewhere else, a hole will be left on the rear wall of the housing. To close this hole, blank plate 56 is located in annular groove 57 as shown in FIGURE 4.

When the switch is removed, wires 39 are removed and thus a conduit for them is no longer needed. Thus hose 12 may be encased in a conventional single opening conduit 57a as shown in FIGURE 6. Sheath 50 being designed for conduit 42 will then have one side spaced from the hose and will not be yable to immediately support it should it start bending in that direction. The sheath could be changed, of course, to fit hose conduit 57. If not, plug 58 should be inserted in the sheath as shown in FIGURE 6.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth, together with the other advantages which are obvious and which are linherent to the apparatus and structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

1. A hand held lluid spray gun assembly for cleaning automobiles and the like, comprising, a nozzle assembly including a rigid, generally L-shaped flow pipe having an outlet leg and an inlet leg, and a nozzle attached to the end of the outlet leg; a flexible -hose connected to the end of the inlet leg through which uid under pressure can ilow into the inlet leg, through the -outlet leg of the flow pipe and out the nozzle; a pistol shaped housing enclosing a portion of the outlet leg, all of the inlet leg, and a portion of the hose, said housing having a barrel portion and a handle portion; means in the housing for engaging both legs of the flow pipe to hold it against movement relative to the housing; and means in the handle portion to engage the hose and to hold the enclosed portion of the hose in alignment with the inlet leg of the ilow pipe to which it is attached as the gun is moved to direct the lluid spray in various directions to keep the hose from bending at the connection between the hose and the flow pipe.

2. A hand held iluid spray gun assembly for cleaning automobiles and the like, comprising, a nozzle assembly including a rigid, generally L-shaped flow pipe having an outlet leg and an inlet leg, and a nozzle attached to the end of t-he outlet leg; a flexible hose connected to the end of the inlet leg through which uid under pressure can flow into the inlet leg, through the outlet leg of the tlow pipe and out the nozzle; a pistol shaped housing split longitudinally into two mating portions along a plane common to the longitudinal axes of both legs of the flow pipe and enclosing a portion of the outlet leg, all of the inlet leg, and a portion of the hose, said housing having a barrel portion and handle portion; means for releasably holding the two mating portions of the housing in position enclosing the aforesaid portions of the nozzle assembly and the ilexible hose connected thereto; means in the housing for engaging both legs of the ilow pipe to hold it against movement relative to the housing; and means in the handle portion to engage the hose and to hold the enclosed portion of the hose in alignment with the inlet leg of the ilow pipe to which it is attached as the gun is moved to direct the fluid spray in various directions to keep the -hose from bending at the connection between the hose and the flow pipe.

3. A hand held lluid spray gun for washing automobiles and the like, comprising, a generally Lshaped ilow pipe having an outlet leg and an inlet leg, a nozzle attached to the outlet leg and a flexible hose connected to the inlet leg through which fluid is forced through the pipe and out the nozzle attached to the outlet leg, a pistol shaped housing having a grip portion and a barrel portion; the grip portion enclosing the inlet leg of the pipe and a portion of the hose connected thereto, the barrel portion enclosing a portion of the outlet leg of the pipe, said housing being hollow with at least two transverse ribs; one being located to engage the outlet leg and one being located to engage the inlet leg of the pipe and hold the pipe against movement relative to the housing.

4. The fluid spray gun of claim 3 further provided with means for controlling the type of cleaning fluid being supplied through the hose, including an electrical switch located in the hollow barrel portion of the housing with its operating lever extending outwardly therefrom in the opposite direction from the outlet leg of the pipe and electrical wires connected to the switch and extending from the switch through the grip portion of the housing to connect the switch to the cleaning lluid controlling means.

5. The gun assembly of claim 4 in which t-he flexible hose and the electrical wires are enclosed in a flexible conduit.

6. The gun assembly of claim 3 further provided with an elongated sheath having one end attached to the grip portion of the housing and covering the portion of the flexible conduit adjacent the housing to add additional resistance to bending to the portions of the conduit and flexible hose adjacent the housing.

7. The gun assembly of claim 6 further provided with means located in the grip portion of the housing to hold the sheath and in turn the conduit and flexible hose against lateral movement relative to the housing to keep the hose from bending at its connection to the outlet leg of the ow pipe.

8. The gun assembly of claim 7 in which the wall of the sheath diminishes in thickness away from the housing to provide a sheath of diminishing stiffness to resist bending of the hose adjacent the housing.

9. A hand held lluid spray gun for washing automobiles and the like, comprising, a nozzle assembly including a generally L-shaped flow pipe having an outlet leg and an inlet leg, a nozzle attached to the end of outlet leg, and a flexible hose connected to the inlet leg, a pistol shaped hollow housing having a barrel portion and a grip portion, split into two halves to be assembled around the nozzle assembly, each half of the housing having at least two lateral cross members with arcuate grooves, one cross member being positioned in the barrel portion to receive the outlet leg and one positioned in the grip portion to receive the inlet leg of the pipe to hold the pipe against movement relative to the housing.

10. A spray gun comprising, Va nozzle assembly, including an L-shaped flow pipe having an inlet leg and an outlet leg, a nozzle connected to the outlet leg, and a exible hose connected to the inlet leg, a pistol shaped hollow housing having a barrel section for enclosing a portion of the outlet leg and a handle section for enclosing the inlet leg, said barrel section having a rear wall provided with an opening through which a switch operating lever can extend and outwardly extending anges to enclose such lever, said flanges having an annular groove therein, and a plate removably positioned n the groove and extending between the anges parallel to the wall to cover the opening therein.

References Cited by the Examiner 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,603,270 10/1926 Childs 15-576 X 2,356,865 8/1944 Mason 239--527 X 3,118,610 1/1964 Teahler 239--304 10 CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

S. E. BECK, E. L. ROBERTS, Assistant Examiners. 

3. A HAND HELD FLUID SPRAY GUN FOR WASHING AUTOMOBILES AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING, A GENERALLY L-SHAPED FLOW PIPE HAVING AN OUTLET LEG AND AN INLET LEG, A NOZZLE ATTACHED TO THE OUTLET LEG AND A FLEXIBLE HOSE CONNECTED TO THE INLET LEG THROUGH WHICH FLUID IS FORCED THROUGH THE PIPE AND OUT THE NOZZLE ATTACHED TO THE OUTLET, LEG PISTOL SHAPED HOUSING HAVING A GRIP PORTION AND A BARREL PORTION; THE GRIP PORTION ENCLOSING THE INLET LEG OF THE PIPE AND PORTION OF THE HOSE CONNECTED THERETO, THE BARREL PORTION ENCLOSING A PORTION OF THE OUTLET LEG OF THE PIPE, SAID HOUS- 